Bomb-thrower and bomb to be thrown thereby



E. PIE'RSANTELLI.

BOMB THROWER AND BOMB TO BE THROWN THEREBY.

IIIIIIIIIII '4 'IIIIIIIIIII APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8,1918.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

2 SH [TS-SHEET l- E. PIERSANTELLI. BOMB THROWER AND BOMB TO BE THROWNTHEREBY APPLICATION- man JUNE 8. 191a. 1,359,425. Patented NOV. 16,1920.

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EMILIO PIERSANTELLI, OF TURIN, ITALY.

BOMB-THROWER AND BOMB TO BE THROWN THEREBY.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EMILIO PIERSANTELLI, a subject of the King of Italy,residing. at Turin, Italy, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Bomb-Throwers and Bombs to be Thrown Thereby; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full,

and exact description of the invention,

clear, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference markedthereon, which forma part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved bomb throwerdesigned to be used instead of a rifle, and also an improved bombdesigned to be thrown by the said improved bomb thrower.

Some constructional forms of the im proved bombthrower and of the bombsused therewith are illustrated by way. of example in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side view and a plan of a firstexample of the improved bomb thrower with automatic cocking mechanism;-Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of the saidbomb thrower ;:Figs. 4mm 5 are longitudinal sections of the automaticcocking mechanism and of the mechanism for releasing the striker,employed; in the forms of the im- 'proved bomb throwers shownrespectively in Figs. 1 and 3;'-Fig. 6'is a longitudinal section of asecond example of the improved bomb thrower in which the cookingmechanism is entirely mechanical and designed to be operatedby'hand;-Figs. 7 and 8 show the cooking and releasing mechanism employedin the form shown in Fig. 6 in two difierent positions of operation;Figs. 9, l0 and 11 illustrate the improved bomb. respectively inlongitudinal section, side view and rear end view ;Fig. 12 illustrates adetail ;Fig. 13 shows in detail a modification in'the socket of thebomb.

A bomb thrower in accordance with the present invention (Figs. lto 3)comprises.

substantially a stock 1 preferably of wood to the front end of which isfixed the barrel 2, and which ends rearwardly in a crescentshaped butt3, the ends of the crescent being pr erferably provided with sharp ironpoints 4.

he ceive the socket with which the bomb isprovided; the said socket hasan extension debarrel 2 is of suitable diameter to resigned to receivethe cartridge for throwing the bomb as well as for actuating the timefuse of the bomb. Generally, the cartridge employed for this purposeisthe usual rifle cartridge. Inside the barrel there is mount-Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N 16, 1920, 7 Applicationfiled June s, 1918. Serial No. 238,827.

ed a striker 5 capable of sliding axially,

(Fig. 2) and designed to act upon the percussion cap of the cartridge.This striker 5 is projected into its operative position by a suitablespring contained in the rear portion of the barrel 2, and in theconstructional examples of the bomb throwers shown in Figs. 1 to 5 saidstriker is cooked the first.

time by hand and afterward automatically by the action of the gasesgenerated by the ignition of the cartridge charge; these gases theneffect the throwing of the bomb. The said striker may also be arrangedto be cooked each time by hand and in such a case, suitable, cockingmeans must be provided that are capable of being operated by hand, as isthe case in the bomb thrower shown in -Figs. 6, 7, 8 and hereinafterdescribed. The

release of the striker is effected by any suitable mechanism, forinstance by means of;

the rotary trigger 6 the several arms of which are operated successivelyby the operator.

Figs. 4c and 5 of the accompanyingdrawings show in detail twoconstructions of the automatic mechanism for cocking the striker as itis applied to the forms of bomb throwers shown in Figs. 1 and 3respectively.

In the first of these examples (Fig.4), the barrel 2 is screwed onto ascrew-threaded sleeve 2' fixed to the end of the stock 1. The striker5is slidably guided by means of the piston-shaped head 5 which extendsrearward and ends in the engaging cone 5 The spring 8 is guided insidethe sleeve 9 which is fixed to the striker, and surrounding a rod 10screwed to the sleeve 2. Said spring has a constant tendency to push theof the barrel into which it enterswith its beveled head. The return ofthe'catch 11, for the purpose of effecting the release of the striker,is produced by means of the wedge-shaped bolt 13 which is mounted so asto be capable of sliding longitudinally in the spring 15 and iscontrolled by the rod 14 which is jointed'thereto and which extendslongitudinally inside the sheath 7 along the lower part of the barrel 2and the stock 1. Said rod is pivoted by means of an eye to an arm of a.lever 16 which bears normally against a screw-adjusted stop 17. Theother arm of the lever 16 is adapted to engage with the arms of therotary trigger 6 which is capable of'rotating in the direction of thearrow (Fig. 4) and. is prevented from rotating in the opposite directionby the elastic pawl 18 that engages the teeth of a ratchet wheel 19fixed to the rotary trigger.

- The bomb 24 may be of any suitable construction. Its characteristicfeature consistsin a socket 22 provided atthe rear designed to beslipped into the barrel 2 and to fit therein tightly by means of the an?nular packing 22 with which it is provided. The socket 22 is hollow andis pro-- vided with a projection in the form of a sleeve 21 in which thecartridge 20 is placed.

This sleeve is fixed to the socket 22' by means of the .end 21 which issuitably perforated so as to establish communication between theinterior of the socket 22 and the interior of. the barrel 2. The bottomof the cavity of the socket 22 contains the percussion cap 23 forigniting the time fuse 1 of the explosive charge of the bomb.

The whole of the bomb has preferably the form shown in Figs. 9 to 11'.By this form the connection of the sleeve 21 to the hollow socket 22 iseffected preferably (Fig. 11) by means of three thin arms 21 preferablyof wedge-shaped cross section, so that the gases of combustion of thecartridge charge can. pass freely from the cavity of the socket into thebore of the barrel 2.

A -The upper end of'the socket is screw-- threaded at 22 It is to thisscrew-threaded portionthat the bomb proper 24 is connected by screwing,so that the latter can be changed easily and quickly or replaced byanother bomb when required.

terminate in a detonator 24 in the case The bomb 24 may of itself be ofany type and size; it contains at least (Fig. 9) the explosive charge24*" and the time fuse 24 which is fixedtothediaphragm 24. The fuseterminates outwardly in a defiagrating head situated facing thepercussioncap 23 that is intended to be exploded by the action of thebullet of the cartridge 20 which strikes it and which is adapted to befitted V 'in the orifice in the end of the socket 22 .wherein thepercussion cap 23 is itself mounted. At its inner end the fuse 24 mayciently assured by the packings 22. However, if for any reason it shouldbe necessary to have a more effective tight-jointing, recourse may behad to the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 13. In this arrangement thesocket 22 is provided with a ring of springs 40 fixed at one end to acollar 40 and mounted like the latter in a recess in the socket 22. Whenthe socket is inserted into the bore of the barrel, these springs 40'bear againstthe latter and thus provide an extremely effective jointing.The collar 40 with its springs 40' may be formed as shown in Fig. 12bybeing cut out from one piece which is then fixed by beading or foldingover on the socket 22;

In theconstructiOnal example illustrated in Fig. 5, the mechanism forengaging the whole of thestriker is situated centrally and consists ofthree spring hooks 25 fixed to the block 27 which is fixed in its turnto the sleeve 2. These hooks 25 are inclosed in the sleeve 9 upon whichthere is mounted thespring 8 that acts upon the whole of the striker. Inthis arrangement the cone 5", serving to effect th striker when thelatter is pus ed to the rear, is sufiiciently small to pass between theteeth 25' of the hooks 25 which will be temporarily moved apart,whereupon the cone 5' will be held between the teeth 25 and will holdthe striker in its cocked position. The release of thestriker isproduced in this arrangementvery similarly to that. in the conicalmember 26. This member 26 by acting upon the central ortion of thespring hooks 25, moves theatter apart and thus produces thedisengagement of the teeth 25' from the cone 5 The manner in which theimproved bomb thrower according to the exampleshown in Figs. 1 to 5 isto be employed and in which it operates is as follows g The strikeris'cocked by hishing it down into the cooked position, this being doneby the use of for instance a rod inserted through the barrel 2 until itcomes into contact with the striker head 5. The bomb,

rovided with the cartridge 20 as shown in ig. 4 is then mounted onthebarrel'2 by inserting the socket 22 into the bore of the barrel. Theweapon can then be fired either by the operator placing the same againsthis shoulder in the same way as in the case of an ordinary rifie, or byholding enga ement of the .ploding,

sion cap 23 and produce the ignition of the.

it in both hands, or by resting it with its points 4 upon the ground andaiming it at the desired angle. On the cartridge exthe bullet willstrike the percus-' time fuse of the explosive charge of the bomb, whilethe gases of the cartridge charge will act upon the inner end of thecavity of the socket 22 and'upon the diaphragm 2", and passingthroughthe central hole in the latter and throughthe additional holes 2,will act upon the piston 5. Thus the said gases produce on the one handthe throwing of the bomb and on the other hand they cause the recoil ofthe whole of the striker which is thereby returned into the cockedposition by engaging with the holding means constituted by the catch 11,or by the teeth 25' of the springs 25 according as to whether the bombthrower is of the type illustrated in Fig. 4:

y or that illustrated in Fig. 5. The recoil of the whole of the strikeris limited by the fact that the said whole will strike either againstthe rod 10 (Fig. l) or against the mouth 10 of the sleeve 9 (Fig. 5)'.In both cases the striker is cooked automatically and when another bombis to be thrown, it is merely necessary to insert the latter into thebarrel 2 and to voperate anew the trigger 6.

The improved bomb thrower according to the second example shown in Figs.6 to 8, comprises as usual the stock 1 preferably of wood, to the frontend\of which the barrel 2 of the weapon is fixed by screwing on thesleeve 2. The rearpart of the stock is preferably straight and ending ina sharp point t which may serve as a support in the ground; it ispreferably fixed in a removable manner by screwing on the stock 1 andserves as a plug for closing the recess 1, that is intended to serve asa container for any accessories for the weapon.

The striker 5 extending through the diaphragm 2" of the barrel, isslidably mounted by means of its enlarged rear part 5'.in the part ofsmallest diameter 2 of the barrel, while by means of its rod 5 -slidablymounted in a suitable longitudinal hole in the stock 1, it is connectedto the cooking and releasing" mechanism hereinafter described. A coiledspring 8 is provided in side the part of smallest diameter 2 of thebarreland bears at one end against the part 5' of the striker and at itsother end in the mortise 2 in the end of the sleeve 2. This springserves to push the striker proper into its'operative position.

The cooking and releasing mechanism which is adapted to be operated byhand is arranged in the box 30 fitted in a suitable mortise providednear the middle of the stock 1, and is fixed therein by any suitablemeans, for instance by screws 31. This mechanism consists of two levers32, 33 ful- By means of a suitablecoupling, the lever- 33 is positivelyconnected to the lever 32 only when it rocks in a determined direction.This coupling may be constituted for instance. by providing the lever 33with a nose 33 which by the action of a leaf spring 35 fixed to thelever 32, fits in a lateral recess in the said lever 32. By thisarrangement the lever 33 is able to operate the lever 32 in thedirection of rotation necessary for exerting a pull upon the rod 5*,whereas it is free to rotate in the opposite direction without actuatingthe lever 32 in opposition tothe elastic resistance of the leaf spring35.

The lever 33 is further provided with 30 and projects to the outside inthe form of a finger-piece 6 adapted to be operated by the hand of themarksman. Its other end inside the box 30 terminates in a tooth 6'designed to engage the tooth 33 of the lever 33. The operating lever hasa constant tendency to be moved in the direction of the arrow a (Fig. 6)by elastic means which may consist for instance of a coiled spring 37fixed at one end to the box 30 and bearing with its other end againstthe operating lever.

The operation of the above described bomb thrower according to thesecond example and having a cooking destined to be operated by hand, isas follows 2- On the marksman pressing with his hand upon thefinger-piece 6 in such a manner as to cause it to turn in the directionof the arrow b (Fig. 6), the tooth 6 will press against the tooth 33" ofthe lever 33 and will cause the latter to turn, and by means of its nose33 to move with it the lever 32, and thereby exert a pull upon the rod 5of the striker, the result being to compress the spring 8. As soon asthe position shown in Fig. 7 has been reached, the tooth 6 will becomedisengaged from the tooth 33, so that the levers 32 and 33 as a wholewill be released to the rear by the action of the spring 8 which hasbeen previously stressed, while the striker 5 is violently impelled andstrikes '(Fig. 9) the percussion cap of the cartridge 20 mounted in thesleeve 21 of the socket-22 with which the bomb 24 is provided, therebyeffecting the throwing of the said bomb. To restore the weapon int-ocondition to repeat the above described working, it is merely necessaryto let go the finger-piece 6. Then the latter under the action of thespring 37 moves back again and acting with the back of its tooth 6 uponthe back of the tooth 33", it causes the lever 33 to rock as shown inFig. 8 until after having moved past thetooth 33", the said lever 33will be returned by the spring 35 in the direction of the arrow Fig. 8into the position shown in Fig. 6 whereln its tooth 33" can be actuatedanew by thetooth 6 on the subsequent operation of the .fingerpiece 6,and so on.

By means of the above described mechanism the cocking of the weapon isthus effected by hand a few -instants before it is released, andby'means of the same member that effects the release. In the secondexample of bomb thrower therefore, the gases generated by the explosionof the cartridge charge have no function beyond that of throwing thebomb.

The improved bomb thrower owing to the simplicity of its construction ischeap to make, while its throwing efficiency is much greater than thatwhich can be obtainedwith the ordinary rifle with which it can becompared as regards ease oftransport and use. istic feature consists inthat it uses the ordinary rifle cartridges, while the bomb by reason ofits special construction which ren-' ders it capable of being thrownwith the improved bomb thrower, is absolutely devoid of risk beforebeing thrown, whether it be fitted with a cartridge or not, this featurebeing very advantageous bothas regards transport and handling.

Although the weapon forming the subject of the present invention is moreparticularly designed for throwing bombs, it'is however to be understoodthat the said weapon may be used also for throwing any object or casinscrewed on the screw-threaded end 22" o the socket 22 (Fig. 9) in placeof the bomb proper.

The hereinabove described weapon is pro 'vided preferably either with abayonet permanently fixed thereon and. adapted to be folded back into aninoperative position when it is not required for use, or with afasteningdevice for the attachment of the usual bayonet.

The -hereinbefore described weapon, especially when provided with abayonet, is a full and advantageous substitute for the usual rifle inmodern combats. This weapon has in fact all the characteristics'of aportable weapon andconsequently of a weapon of assault either forattacking or for giving very intensive fire by bombing. The rifle whichhas become henceforth a weapon having over sufficient ballisticproperties, and

at the same'time insufficient as regards quantity and efliciency offire, maybe replaced to advantage by the present improved weapon whichis much more simple, cheaper and comprises iii itself the necessaryqualities for throwing the present infantry projectile, that is to say,the bomb that has hithereto Another rather important character-.

ner the problem of throwing the bomb, while all the experiments madehitherto in this direction have been directed toward'the possibilityofconverting the usual rifle into a bomb thrower, and have encounteredthe difficulty of having the cartridge, that is to say, the charge forthrowing the bomb, separated from theactual bomb by an obstacle such asthe barrel of the rifle, so that it was not possible to utilize thewhole efficiency of the cartridge, that is to say, of the charge andofthe bullet. Now on the contrary in a weapon according to the presentinvention the striker and the cartridge have been'transferredsubstantially from the rear portion to the muzzle of the weapon in sucha manner that the cartridge being freed from the obstacle that wasconstituted by a ballistically delicate and exact device, such as therifle barrel, can be better and completely utilized for throwing and forautomatically igniting the bomb.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited in any, way tothe precise arrangements described and shown, and that without departingfrom the nature of the invention they can be modified in, an way thatmay be found necessary or desira le by the requirements or circumstancesof practical use.

I claim- 1. A bomb thrower comprising a barrel, percussion mechanismoperating near the end of the barrel in combination with a bomb having arearward tubular socket to fit into the end of said barrel and acartridge holder extending from'the end of said socket to. hold acartridge in firing relation to said percussion mechanism. 7

2. A bomb thrower comprising a rifle barrel,.a. socket adapted to bemounted in the muzzle of the barrel and support, a bomb at the endthereof means for supportin a with cartridge in the socket, and a str1er in the barrel adapted to explode the cartridge, whereby the explodingcartridge charge will throw the bomb and theicar tridge bullet explodethe latter.

3. A bomb thrower comprising" a short gun barrel, a stock therefor, asocket member for insertion into the barrel havinga prolongation adaptedto receive a rifle cartridge, a striker slidably mounted in the having abutt, a short gun barrel fixed tothe I front end of the stock, a socketfor supporting a bomb adapted to fit into the muzzle of the barrel, anextension fixed in the socket to receive a rifle cartridge, and astriker slidably mounted in the rear portion of the barrel and adaptedto act upon the percussion cap of a cartridge mounted in said extension,said cartridge constituting the charge for throwing the bomb, and meansfor cocking and releasing the striker.

5. A bomb thrower comprising a barrel, percussion mechanism operatingnear the end of the barrel in combination with a bomb having a rearwardtubular socket forming a gas chamber fitting into the end of saidbarrel, a cartridge holder extending from said socket for presenting acartridge to said percussion mechanism, said gas chamber vented to therear thereof.

6. A bomb thrower having a barrel and an automatic cocking firinmechanism, in combination with a bomb aving a socket extension at therear forming a gas chamber and fittin the end of said barrel, and acartridge hol er extending from said socket member for presenting thecartridge to the percussion member, said socket member vented into thebarrel to effect the cocking of the firing mechanism.

7. A bomb thrower having a barrel .and an automatic cockin firinmechanism, in combination with a omb aving an explosive charge chamber,a fuse chamber connected to the latter by a fuse, a socket mem-- berclosing the fuse chamber and having an opening in line with said fuse,said socket member fitting the end of said barrel and havingrearwardly'directed vents, and a cartridge holder extending from saidsocket member and of smaller diameter to present.

a cartridge to said firing mechanism, whereby the gases from saidcartridge and from said fuse chamber will be vented from the

